June is bustin' out all over!

Around about March/April each year since 2008 I get a phone call from June Rodgers.

"Hi June"
"How's it cuttin' Fanny?" (Her nickname for me).
There follows a bit of banter and a chat.  It doesn't matter whether we spoke last week or last year, we just pick up where we left off.  Then we get down to business.  It means her preparations for her Christmas show in the Red Cow Moran (or "Moron" as one of her characters refers to it) Hotel is under way.
The process is a three-way between June, me and the management in the hotel.  That process is best left unveiled as it is way too complicated but the first stage for me is the photo shoot.  Sometimes we have a definite theme.  Other times we don't.  Usually we have a chat and also involve her creative director and choreographer Ciaran Connolly.

Typically the shoot is in the conference room in the Red Cow Moran Hotel.  I mark out an area on the floor, set up studio flash units while June and the cast get ready - makeup and costumes.  It's a big deal to organise everybody to be there at the same time.  Most of the cast have either their own dance schools or jobs or sometimes are on cruise ships.  So I'm always appreciative that the shoot is regarded with the same importance as rehearsals etc.

This is how a typical finished shot looks for posters, newspaper ads, Internet, etc.  However, it is very seldom that a shot like is taken in one go.

For a start off the 'studio' is not exactly set up for photography so everybody has to be 'cut' from the background which is a long a tedious process.  If you look closely at the photo above you may notice that the girl - third from the left - doesn't appear in the final photo and isn't even dressed for the shot!  She's a stand-in for the 'real' girl who is working in another country.  I use stand-ins so that the other members of the cast get used to someone being there and allow space for her when they are posing.  What we did was shoot the 'real' girl a couple of weeks later mimicking the poses we wanted and I used those in the final picture.
Closer look again and you might see that the guy 4th from the right is not the same guy in the finished shot.  Again he's a stand-in but this time I had the 'real' guy who was on a cruise ship get his on-board photographer to duplicate the shots we had chosen and send me the files.  Then I took his head and transposed it onto the stand-in.

These are another set of examples of the finished shot:

And here's the original (for the most part) with notes ....

But there's more!

Very seldom do you get all the cast perfectly posed.  Nor June for that matter.  There's an unfortunate costume shape, somebody making an less-than- flattering facial expression, or blinking, awkward pose, out of synch step or a myriad of other reasons.  So that means choosing the poses of each individual or pair and cutting them out of their original picture and making a collage.  This sometimes involves reconstruction surgery.  Yes, at times I fell like a plastic surgeon.

In 2012 I took on an extra project.  We had the shoot done with all the cast and I was shooting various characters that June does in her show.  It's quite amazing how her face and voice change with the characters she portrays.  The only other person I can think of that did the same was Ronnie Barker.  Just look at him presenting the 'Two Ronnies' and then look at him in 'Porridge'.  June wanted to have some shots done as a hurling and rugby player.  I suggested we do the straight shots but then try for a shot showing interaction between the two.
This was one of the finished shots:

In order to get the hurley in more or less the right spot I used one of the cast to stand in for the 'alternate' June.

This is a rough collage I put together to help make our final choice:

So ..... this year I got a call from June a little earlier than expected and she told me that she was going on tour!  She had her cast, all the usual gang were on board and she'd like to discuss the ideas for photographs for the poster they were going to get designed.  June said she wanted to portray a few of her characters in the poster so I suggested a shot where three of them could interact with each other.  The setup for these requires the subject to understand the concept and the difficulties in getting it right.  It's a bit like the green screen they use in CGI sections of movies where the actors have no idea what they are supposed to interacting with or what kind of scenery is around them.

June picked her characters and here is the finished picture:

The shot was made up from three individual shots (obviously) but the only one I was concerned about was Elvis and SwineAir (hostess) because I wanted Elvis to have his arm around the hostess and the hostess to react accordingly so we got a victim volunteer to stand in.

Yes, he was a little tall so we had to get him to stoop a little.  Not sure why his hands are in the defensive position .....
Then I cut Elvis out of the shot ....

.... and blended ho with the others.
At the moment I only have a camera phone shot of the finished poster.  June has one kept safe for me.  It's kind of cool seeing it on walls around Dublin city.

"Are you moving house?"

A while ago, I did a shoot with the absolutely lovely Valentina with Lily doing makeup for me.  It was a Tuesday.  Tuesday night is club night for the Dublin Camera Club. I finished the shoot, left the studio as it was and dropped the two girls off where they needed to be and then went back for the club business.  When that finished I went back to the studio, tidied everything up and started bringing them down from the 3rd floor to the hallway on the ground floor.
That's when the remarks started.  "Are you moving house?"  "I only need a camera.  I'm glad I don't use the studio."  "Do you need all that?"  Etc., etc.

Well I do bring a lot of stuff into the studio.  But it depends on the shoot.  The situation with the people who make these remarks is that it is very similar to those who say "These are great photos.  You must have a really expensive camera!"  Some people have admired my studio photos but they don't look beyond the image and see the work that went on behind it.  So what did I bring?  Did I need it all?  Probably not.

I brought my camera - the one I used was the Canon 5D MkII.  I usually bring two lenses - Canon 24-70mm L f2.8 and Canon 100-400 L f3.5 but sometimes I also want to bring my Sigma
These will go in my camera bag which is quite big.  Why?  Because I photograph outside of the studio and I need to bring a range of equipment to cope with what I might be asked to do.  That will be an extra camera body (Canon 6D), two speedlights, flash meter, extra batteries, an intervalometer, etc., etc.  So when I go to the studio, there is an anxiety creeps in that if I remove gear, that I will remove something I might need.  Worse, if I'm doing a gig somewhere else I might grab the camera bag forgetting that I took some of the gear out.  So ..... I just take the camera bag as it is.

I also bring triggers for the Bowens units.  I find I can't depend on the sensors to detect a flash and trigger.  I don't like using the cable to trigger one Bowens unit either - I had a nasty (and expensive) experience involving cables so I use triggers.  I have a nice aluminium case that stores the triggers and their cables.  But this case also contains 4 speedlites and holders to attach them to stands.  I use these outside the studio.  There's no point in removing what I won't use so I bring the box 'as is'.

Next up are softboxes.  Yes, the studio has four Bowens units and two of them have softboxes - one large and one small.  The main softboxes I bring in are two 'Strip lights'.  These are narrow and long softboxes that also have a grid you can place on the front that gives a narrow soft light.  Because they are so long they will also light a standing person from head to foot.  I usually use them to rim light people from behind.  Sometimes I bring an Octobox but not this time.

Since I was going to do some relatively high key shots I brought my own Bowens 750 unit because it has a bit more power than the club's Bowens 500s.  I use it in a particular way to achieve nice white background and floor.  I wrote up how I did it a while ago and it can't be done with regular stands.  I have to use a boom and the boom needs to counterweighted so ...... I bring in my own stand.  So that's a Bowens unit, power cable, stand and weight.

What else?  I like to use fill in reflectors.  I try to avoid using fill flash and prefer to bounce the main light off a white surface.  The only white surface in the club's studio is a couple of sheets of polystyrene and they have to be either held or propped up against ..... something.  So I bought one of my own.  It's not the fanciest piece of equipment or is the best made but it works AND the reverse side is black so I can use it to blank off other lights/flash that would otherwise cause lens flare.

Occasionally I like to play with slow, or even long, shutter speeds or try some shots that are the equivalent of double or triple exposures.  These require a tripod so I bring that just in case.  The list is growing.

That more or less takes care of the photo gear.  What else?  Props - that's what!  In the studio I have left a swivel chair, a 4' x 6' mirror and dock for iPhones and MP3 players.  I also had a fan there but somebody broke it.  No point in bringing that stuff home.  It's just too big.
I also dress my models.  Yep, I have a collection of dresses, tops, shoes, coats, capes, corsets, body stockings and a range of materials that I buy to drape the models with.  I bring some of these in bags and large plastic boxes.  And then I have accessories.  Spectacles, sun glasses, bracelets, rings, necklaces, wigs, blah, blah, blah.  The majority of these go in a large makeup kit I bought.

So that was everything.  Sometimes I don't get to use much of it because the shoot takes an unexpected turn.  Other times I'm wishing I brought something that I left at home.

So I guess the guys who make the remarks would probably have built the pyramids with a shovel and a bucket.

Impressed - oh yeah!

For various reasons which I'm not going to go into, it's been a year since I posted here so this is as good a reason to start back on a positive note.  God knows most people regard me as a cynic.  Maybe I am or maybe it's a mixture of cynicism and "saying it like it is".  Either way there's something postive to be said for being a cynic - your day can only get better.  :-)

When you've been doing the same thing for a long time like your job, you can get to a point where all you can see are the negative aspects.  As an American friend of mine used to say: "One 'gotcha' is worth 40 'attaboys'" - please forgive the spellings.  And it's true.  News media wait for the bad stuff to happen and report it in a big way and gloss over all the good stuff.  Politicians and high profile executives are forced to resign over single faults while we ignore the years of good.

Anyway ..... I think my view of the camera club I'm in is tainted with that very cynicism and I thought maybe it was time to look around and see what else was available that might freshen up my tired brain and at the same time put my negative thoughts about my club in perspective.
I noticed the name Tiara Rad popping up quite frequently on my Facebook newsfeed.  The photographs looked amazing.  There are styles of photography that I will (probably) never duplicate but that I can admire.  This was one.  Then I started to notice the name "The Photography Mill" appearing on a frequent basis.  The name at first stuck in my mind because it didn't quite make sense. Pepper mill - yes.  Photography mill -???  Then one day it hit me - Paper mill / Photography mill.  Hmmmm.
Then I noticed a post from them that proposed to start a camera club.  This definitely intrigued me!  A commercial venture starting a camera club?  The cynic inside of me was banging on the door.

However cautious I may be and I also like to analyse and plan ahead I don't like to be considered a 'stick-in-the-mud' so I thought I'd poke my nose in the door and see what it was all about.  Nothing to lose - right?
So ..... Thursday 15th May 2014 I headed up to Harold's Cross and walked in the door of The Photography Mill (on the 3rd floor) and was met by Melissa Hayward who shrieked and hugged me within an inch of my life.  Melissa and I have had a 'relationship' for a few years but always online and never in person.  That's a good start eh?

Then I met Tiara Rad otherwise known as Shellly.  A very personable lady.  She showed me around the 3rd floor and it is impressive.  Two large studios with bags of space, lights and accessories.  There was even a little set in one corner, a place to have coffee and chat, a makeup room, etc., etc.  She sat me down at her computer and went through some of the shoots that have been done there and outlined the camera club's ethos.  Meanwhile, in the background there were three models getting ready for the club's introduction to low key photography by Gavin Monaghan.  No lightweights either - Scarlet Fro, Maggie Paige and Black Swan Persona all having their makeup done by Louise McMahon Kaiser who is also the manager.

So I asked the inevitable questions.  "How much is it going to cost me to join "The Next Generation Camera Club"?  €150 for the year.  Okay ..... And in addition I get a quite large discount if I hire either of the two studios.  I started my photographic life eons ago.  For those of you less knowledgeable an "eon" is even further in the past than a "yonk".  It was in the days of film and colour photography was mostly done on slide film (or transparencies as the posh folk called them) and most photographers did their own processing in black and white.  One advantage I had over others was that I joined the ESB Photographic Society and their meeting room doubled as a studio.  Very basic lighting but it worked.  One of my first serious shoots there produced this:

By today's standards it wouldn't rate very well but the use of the studio allowed me to learn by mistakes and read, and read and read ...
Following that I found a studio for hire at the bottom of Grafton Street that became a very regular place to be with people queueing up to have their picture 'done'.
Since then I have been looking for the (almost) ideal studio in Dublin.  I need a bit of space to get the lighting just right - inverse square law and all that - as well as to give some of my models a bit of space to leap around a bit.  Oh yes they are out there but they cost a bleedin' fortune!!!  So it came as a pleasant surprise to find that being a member of The Next Generation Camera Club comes with favourable rates on The Photography Milll's studios.

So back to my introduction to the club's agenda for the night.
Let me say at the outset that I am not a great fan of group photographer shoots.  Having given rein to my cynical side and got that out in the open I don't want to give the impression that they are a bad thing.  They're just not my thing.  Gavin Monaghan was our guide and mentor and worked tirelessly throughout the evening making sure we had all we needed in the way of equipment and advice.  The models were patient and friendly and also worked hard.  The rule is that you tip on the night.  You put your contribution for the models in a 'tip jar'.

I didn't get the low key shot I wanted - no matter.  I made mistakes - but I learned from them.  I made contacts - am I networking now?  There were 8 photographers, 3 models and 3 sets so not overcrowded.
Next week is high key with Melissa Hayward as the model.  Hmmmm (smacks lips).
My three shots from the night were:

Maggie Paige

Maggie Paige again in a lovely little set with Gavin giving a helping hand.

Another from that set with Scarlet Fro

Nope, they won't win medals but that wasn't the purpose.  I learned from the experience and met new people.

Worth a shot -
Photography Mill

	Greenmount Ave, Harold's Cross, Dublin 12,

Another life lesson learned .....

A while ago, I went looking for a model with either a bald or shaved head.  I had a picture in mind and the bald head was key to it.  I also had visions of a special headpiece and that the makeup would be done using an airbrush rather than the expected way using brushes and sponges.

I put out the feelers on Facebook but got virtually no response.  I put up a note on Model Mayhem - zilch, nada, nothing.  Then a friend of mine mentioned a friend of hers (I know - a friend of a friend) who was going to shave her (very) long hair to raise money for cancer treatment for a young girl here in Ireland.  I contacted her and met her so that we could size each other up and see if we fitted together,  I explained the shot, explained she would basically painted, the shoot would take about 4 hours, the photos would be used in competitions and might be in salons and could be on public view in exhibitions.
We had our coffees, chatted some more and then went our different ways.

I had a MUA friend of mine who uses a person who makes headpieces that are incredible.  I got in touch and asked her if she could make one especially for me.  We met, discussed the shape and concept, materials that would be used, the cost and when I needed it.  While I was there I also saw some other pieces that I agreed to hire for the day.  All was going well.

Now all I needed was the airbrush artist .....

I was talking to a friend of mine in Dublin Camera Club and he mentioned that "one of his guys" did airbrushing.  Maybe he could provide what I wanted so I described to him what I was looking for.  The colours would be subtle.  If I said gold I meant a gold tint and not gold-gold.  Head and chest would be a gold tint.  The face would have an oval of silver tint as though someone was shining a spotlight on her.  I wanted a soft jagged band of black across her eyes and hard black stripes coming from the forehead converging at the crown of her head.  I also said that money was scarce so it would be a deciding factor in whether I went ahead with the airbrushing or not.  If not then I would modify my approach and probably use the 'normal' methods.  I mentioned €50 as a starting negotiating price.

The following week my friend came back to me, told me he had discussed it and €50 would be okay.  I got the guy's contact details and

26-Feb 14:46

Paul: Hi,

I'm the friend of YYY that's looking for the airbrush job on a woman with a shaved head! Any chance we could meet and have a chat?

Paul Timon.

27-Feb 21:21

Paul: Have you changed your mind about the job?

Paul Timon.

Christian: Sorry man,just been really busy we can meet up in the academy on Friday at 1 if that suits ?

Paul: No problem. Yes, that suits me fine. See you then. Thanks.

1-Mar 12:12

Paul: Might be 5 mins late.

Christian: Sure no worries

We had our meeting.  I described what I wanted to Christian and I could see from his reaction that €50 was not going to be enough and suggested €100 to which he agreed.  He started doing a sketch of my description in Photoshop and said he would finish it another time and send me a copy for discussion in "the next few days".  One of the things I repeated over and over was that all the colours were to blend with each other - no hard lines - except for the lines on her head.
Christian had a problem with the date we had arranged for the shoot - the 22nd so I spoke to Louise and changed it to the 23rd to suit him.

1-Mar 17:27

Paul: 23rd is fine. 12:00 - 16:00

Paul T

Christian: Cool

Nearly two weeks had gone by without any sketch.

13-Mar 17:56

Paul: Anything to show me yet?

Christian: Not yet ill get a look at it this evening

Another week has gone by with no sketch.  I have given up expecting one.  I now decided I would just send him details of the shoot just to confirm them.

21-Mar 13:03

Paul: Saturday, 12:00 at Dublin Camera Club.

10 Lr Camden St.

Text me when you're outside.

I got a phone call from him telling me that he couldn't make it for 12:00 but would be there at 1:00 pm.  I called Louise and changed the time to 1:00.

22 Mar I see an email timestamped 21-Mar 23:55 where he says:find attached sketch for look on saturday in gold and silver there will be alterations depending on the size of the models head etc.. let me know if there you want to make any changes

This is the sketch I received the day before the shoot.

 

The day before the shoot at 6:22 pm I get the following text.  No phone call,just a text.

22-Mar 18:22

Christian: Hy Paul I won't be able to do tomorrow for you but I've given all the materials and equipment to an excellent make up artist called XXX  she is more than capable of creating the look your after and will be at the camera club at 12 her number is XXX

The replacement was not the same standard as Christian.  However I went with what she was doing and did my shoot.  I checked if she had been paid and she told me she hadn't so I gave her the €100 - the full amount.  But I had already paid Christian €50 so asked for it back.

26-Mar 17:52

Paul: I gave XXX the full €100 since you didn't give her the €50 deposit.

Please give YYY the €50 to return to me.

Thanks.

Christian: The deposit was 50 for materials which I gave to XXX the price for the job was 100 total price was 150

Paul: The number €150 was never mentioned at our meeting. It went from €50 to €100. Are you refusing to return the €50?

?

Christian: At the meeting I said 50 for materials and 100 for the day no make up artist would work for less than 100 for a make over especially with the airbrush

Paul: Considering all that has happened since I started this project, this is the last straw.

Christian: My going rate for a day is 350 I reduced the rate since you were a friend if YYY , you can check with him at the end of the day you got the job done for practically half the price

Paul: This is not over.

• So.... I was told by his 'boss' (?) €50 would be okay.  But the discussion quoted €100.  No mention of an addition of €100.
• I was promised a sketch of what we discussed in the following days after our discussion on 1-Mar.
• After no sketch and no communication I had to ask about the sketch again on the 13-Mar and was told "Not yet ill get a look at it this evening"
• On Thursday 21-Mar (shoot on Saturday) I send him confirmation details of the shoot only to be told he can't make it for 12:00.  What if I hadn't contacted him?
• On Thursday night at 11:55pm he sends me the sketch I had expected weeks before and it is NOT what we discussed.  I don't see it until Friday 22nd.  I decide I'll try and steer the work on the Saturday.
• 6:22 pm on Friday 22-Mar I get a text telling me he isn't going to be there but has assigned a replacement.
• He also estimated it was two hours work.  His rate (now I find out) is €350 for the day.  Assuming an 8 hour day then 2 hours would be < €90?

I didn't get the person I had a contract with.

I didn't get a sketch in time despite asking for it twice and it was wrong.

I was overcharged.
I was given virtually no notice of replacement or asked if it was okay.

Would you use Christian Kotey?

3 into 1 can go

A friend of mine, Glynis Casson, calls on me from time to time to help out with stage performances that she puts on in various places.  She has a bit of a pedigree!  Her grandmother was Dame Sybil Thorndike who won't mean too much to most of you but she would have been the Judy Dench of her day.  Her father was Christopher Casson who came to Ireland in 1946 and worked on stage initially but was probably more well known for his part as Canon Browne in an Irish soap called "The Riordans".
Down through the years she has played various parts in various musicals and other performances and now has put together a number of productions in which she plays the solo part or as part of a collaboration with other singers or musicians.

A recent creation was with a friend of hers (and mine), Irene Gaffney, who is no stranger to the stage herself and whose father was well known around the country for his lead roles in musicals as well as performances on radio and television.

Glynis and Irene, with some critical direction from another involved in stage - Tom Singleton - put together a collection of words and songs designed to entertain and illicit a laugh or two.  Think Victoria Wood but twice.

I went to see a preliminary performance (a sort of dress rehearsal) and enjoyed it immensely.  I felt it needed to be advertised a little better than by word of mouth and suggested that maybe a poster with the right design could do this.  That initial suggestion became a goal and I volunteered to come up with an idea.

So ......
Their production is called "Ladies who Lunch".  Some of the witticisms and humorous songs portray "Ladies who Lunch" all too well.  I saw wealthy women of indeterminate marital status who would regularly meet to 'do lunch' and wear clothes and jewellery to show off their status and vie with each other to be the most stylish and well-to-do.  All this and just missing the mark.  I envisioned them with cocktails and also wanted to suggest that they were in a posh restaurant - probably a hotel.  I described the idea to Glynis and Irene and they were very enthusiastic.  We enlisted Tom as the waiter advising him that his face wasn't really needed - just the body as a prop!  Before I go into any more detail, this is the finished photograph that will be used by the graphics designer to create the final poster.

I wanted to photo to have a mono feel to it without actually being mono.The only real colour I saw in it was their lipstick and the waiter's waistcoat. Their outfits are black and white.  Glynis (on the right) is wearing a hat that has blue in it but that's almost mono.The jewellery is a little over the top as are their outfits.  The waiter suggests posh with the white gloves and the silver tray.  I deliberately chose the back view so that his face didn't distract the viewer's attention from the two ladies. I did a series of poses with mobile phones, having 'gossip' conversations and 'pointing' out the not-so-stylish people who might also be in the restaurant.

My original intention was to shoot all three together and then we'd review them and pick the best one and maybe tweak it by shooting slight variations of it.  As is usual with the best laid plans of mice and men, things didn't go quite to plan.  First of all, Tom had to leave early for a rehearsal so while the MUA was working on the two ladies I shot Tom on his own.

The lighting setup was fairly basic.  I was lighting everybody the same way - two long strip boxes, one on either side of the background to light it.  A large and smaller softbox to the front to give butterfly lighting.  So Tom's shots were ....

I did a few different shots just in case.  I had told Tom that he was just a prop and not a person in the photo so he wouldn't be too put out.  I finally chose a shot of To that was close to what I wanted but it needed a bit of fixing.

The shot on the left is the original.  The one on the right is the one I used.  Besides the creases that needed a bit of 'ironing' (not too much) the two biggest problems were the apparent curve in Tom's back created more by the lighting than Tom, and the gaping sleeve on the right.  I fixed those and now had my starter picture.

Then it was the ladies' turn.  I was hoping that I could use a single shot of the two of them since they were acting off each other.  I gave them a couple of ideas like talking on their phones, people watching and judging, etc.  The collection is below.  I'm not sure whose idea it was to pinch Tom's bottom (probably Irene) but it seemed like a good idea and it was the one we all agreed to go for.  That is the shot bottom left in the group of photos below.  However, they agreed that a different shot of Glynis should be used and that was the picture top left.

Pic of Irene cut from original and pasted into the composite.  I felt her hair was a little unbalanced so ...

I copied her hair from the right side, flipped it, placed it on the left side, made a few edits.

Then added some burning and dodging to her eyes and eyebrows.

Added Glynis .....

A little dodging and burning and a finished picture.

Tada!

Geek Time .....

A long time ago I invested in the development of a gadget called Triggertrap.  At the time I was using an intervalometer to do some time-lapse photography and I also had bought a remote trigger to operate the camera from a distance such as in a theatre.  With these thoughts buzzing in my head I read this investment opportunity where the device could trigger my camera or flash.  The trigger source could be sound, light change or laser.  It would also boast time-lapse capability, trigger a camera that had infra red remote control capability and the triggering thresholds could be adjusted as could the delay in triggering and retriggering.
Well, time passed.  So did the deadlines for delivery.  But it did arrive.  I had a brief look at it and, being busy, put it away for another time.

A couple of weeks ago I was passing by a shop and saw that it had air soft pistols for sale.  I remember wanting a simpler version of these when I was a boy.  The used lead pellets, were a one-shot deal and not very accurate.  I know because one or two friends of mine had one.  Today, it's a whole new scene.  The BB guns are replicas of the real thing.  So much so that the Gardai will not concede there is a difference as far as they are concerned.  The words "gun", "triggertrap" and "balloons" went through my mind so I bought a gun - a Taurus PT 92.  Why that one?  'Cos it had my initials in the name.  Yes I am that spontaneous and reasoning at times.  The gun will hold 26 BB projectiles that are 6mm in diameter.

Two BBs (or not 2 bb)

Last week I did some homework to see if I could possibly photograph a BB projectile bursting a balloon.  There were several variables.  Some I hadn't even considered.
The first was the speed of the BB.  The box had the figure of "407 fps" written on it.  That's very exact so I naturally immediately mistrusted it!  Preferring to work in metric I converted it and it came out at 124053 mm/sec.
I figured the only way to freeze that kind of motion was with flash.

Most people think that flash will freeze any motion but it won't simply because of the way it works.  A lot people think that reducing a speedlite's power is the equivalent of reducing its light output but it's not.  It's reducing the length of time the speedlite is putting out light.  Full power is the same level of light for a longer time.  Minimum power is the same light level for a shorter time.  So to get the BB to be frozen I needed a real short time.

Off to the Internet and I found this guy (Andy Gock) who had measured the flash duration of a number of models at different settings.  If I accept his findings as true then there was a surprise to find that the more expensive and well-known brands turned out NOT to be the ones with the shortest duration at minimum power.  In fact, the Yongnuo units I bought from China had the shortest times at 1/23041 sec.

Power	μs	s
1	3200.0	1/313
2	736.0	1/1359
4	356.0	1/2809
8	202.0	1/4950
16	124.0	1/8065
32	79.2	1/12626
64	54.8	1/18248
128	43.4	1/23041

Now that I had (probably) the fastest (shortest) flash times, the payoff for that was low light.  But I had another gizmo - a bracket that holds three speedlites so that would help.



So variables ........
I would pull the trigger.  There would be a bang and the BB would theoretically be travelling at 124053 mm/sec.  The sound from the bang would be travelling at (roughly) 340 m/sec or 340000 mm/sec so the sound would reach my triggertrap much quicker than the BB.
Working on the basis that a ballon and the triggertrap would be about 3 metres from the gun I worked out (roughly) that the sound would reach the balloon/triggertrap in about 0.0088 sec or 9 ms.  The BB would reach the same area in 0.024 sec or 24 ms.


                              Sound =====================>
        Gun bang =>                                                              Balloon / Triggertrap
                                   BB ======>
So theoretically I would need to build in a flash trigger delay of 15 ms to allow the BB to reach the balloon when the flash went off.

Well that was the theory.  Practical tests blew that out of the water!
I set up a board with some targets to see if it was close.  I used a series of small rectangles made of foam core and hinged to a board so that if the BB lost power going through the first or second target it could still knock over the next target.  It became clear that the foam core was too strong because the BBs were embedded in some of them and bounced off others so didn't necessarily travel in a straight line.  At one stage I just put up a  group of 3 targets together and shot them.  You can see from the photograph that the flash has gone off after the BB has hit 'cos they're in the air!

This particular BB has me puzzled.  It looks like it has bounced off the first target on the right but there is a 'comet tail' behind it that suggests it is travelling down from left to right.

 The BB is nowhere to be seen but the timing and placement are about right.

I spent 3 1/2 hours setting up my test case and the only thing I had to show for it at the end was that the gun at about 3 metres was about right, I had a collection of used BBs and bits of foam core all over the floor.  I called it a day.

Next day I was joined by Javier Leite who was interested in what I was doing and offered to help.
We set up a series of targets made from photo paper at roughly where the balloon and triggertrap would be and set about trying to find where the BB would be at a specific delay set on the triggertrap.  Once we had established where the BB would be when the flash went off we replaced the targets with the balloon on a stool.

After a few shots we found out some more.  Some balloons were fighting back!  I had asked Javier to bring safety glasses for himself and I was wearing glasses with plastic lenses.  We needed them.  The power of the gun is limited to less than a Joule so it won't break skin but it will hurt and probably could injure one's eyesight.  You can see from the picture below that the BB is rebounding from the balloon and heading back towards me!  I shot myself a few times and the BBs went in several different directions quite a few times.

They fight back you know.  You can see the depression on the right hand side where the BB has pushed into the balloon and will soon be heading back in my direction.

With trial and error we built in a delay into the Triggertrap to set off the flash 3 ms after the bang was detected - a long way from the 15 ms I had thought would be needed.  We also figured the gun needed to be at full pressure before each shot so charging it became a ritual each time.  Even so, even keeping as much as we could as constant as we could we still found some shots were taken after the balloon was burst and others we could see the BB at least a metre away.  That could be down to tiny variations in the BB, the firing mechanism, the Triggertrap's reaction time, we have no idea.
But we did get some shots and, on the plus side, it kept me off the streets where I'd only be stealing cars or mugging little old ladies.  ;-)

 This was our first success.  Sad the things you get excited about ....

 This is where I had the ambient light (used to allow me aim the gun) a little too bright and you can see the balloon before and after shooting.

 One of those shots that we couldn't predict.  The balloon is burst and the BB is on its way out.

 Another BB exit shot.

 This was interesting.  The BB was trapped inside the balloon.

The BB has burst the balloon and is on its way through.

 The setup.

A - shooting position.

B - 3 speedlites set at 1/128 power

C - Triggertrap

D - Camera position

E - Board to absorb BBs.

Casualties.

Next time ....
I'm hoping to set up something more spectacular so it's a picture rather than a record of a balloon bursting no matter how fascinating that is to see.  And then the Triggertrap has other triggering methods such as the laser sensor which will trigger when sensed or broken.  That could need a rig .....


References:
Andy Gock's flash duration measurements tables.
Speed of sound: Wikipedia  and Google

What?! A photo blog post with no photos!

Yep, a photo blog and no photos.  Bear with me ....

I went to see movie 'Lincoln'.  I have to admit it was on my list of movies to see but not my first (or even second) choice.  However the others would have involved me waiting around too long and Abe started in half an hour so ......

For the impatient among you, the movie is great.  In between taking photographs and editing I occasionally like to see a movie and enjoy a little escapism.  I know what's involved in making a movie.  A screenwriter has to rewrite the story to make it compatible with a movie format and also make it flow.  A storyboard has to be created that shows the vision the director has for each second which generates the sets, lighting requirements, costumes, actors, extras, etc., etc.  All movies need special effects to some degree or another.  Some require Computer Generated Imagery to a huge extent like Avatar or some of the SciFi movies.  Others require subtlety like Castaway - did you think Tom Hanks stood on top of his island and surveyed all around him?  It was done on a small set in a car park!  The point is that the great movies need all the elements to work and the sum of them to be greater than the whole which is probably why there aren't that many memorable ones.

If a movie can absorb me to the point that I forget all that and just immerse myself in the story then it's great in my book.  This movie had that magic.  The feel of the movie was 1865.  The clothes looked like those you see in museums where they seem to lack that finesse of modern clothing.  Their clothes look heavy and slightly badly fitting - a kind of clumsiness.  The attention to detail was amazing.  The dialogue also felt of the time.  Daniel Day Lewis is a method actor and immersed himself in the role three months beforehand and, it may come across as being a prima donna (for a man?), but insisted that the crew refer to him at all times as 'Mr President'.  Could be one of the reasons he's nominated for his third oscar.

But, to me, this was a masterclass in lighting, composition and photography.  Right from the outset I was looking at how much the scenes were reminiscent of of the photographs of the era and even more remarkably they moved!  Every photographer who has done studio or location work knows that the lighting is usually right for one viewpoint and the subjects as well.  Here were scenes where actors walked across what appeared to be dark areas but yet were lit by 'invisible' lighting.  The other thing I noticed was that if you looked around the scene there was just enough light to allow you to see details of objects in the shadows.  There must have been huge discussions, planning and probably arguments about designing and dressing the sets.  Composition was amazing.  I kept noticing that the lighting and the framing made me look where the director wanted me to look.

So being a photographer I was a bit distracted by the technical side of the process somewhat like a musician will analyse a concert's performance and that of the conductor.  But, having said that, I think I got more from the movie than most people would have.  Trouble is I'll have to go back and watch it again.  But that won't be a trial.